Botham, who took 13 wickets and scored a century in a one-off Test to mark the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Golden Jubilee in 1980, also highlighted England's superior fitness in unforgiving sub-continent conditions.

"When you're playing in these conditions it's hard work, it's hot, it's unfriendly to bowlers, it's hard work for batsmen concentrating and all in all England outshone India in every side of fitness," he added.

Former England opener Nick Knight pinpointed Alastair Cook's century in the loss in Ahmedabad as the changing point in the series.

Cook registered the first of three hundreds in a losing cause but Knight believes the innings may have boosted England.

"We've all been talking about the dramatic turnaround from that first Test match to the second, third and fourth," he said.

"For me the way Alastair Cook played in that second innings of that Ahmedabad Test match maybe just settled the whole team down."